22 December 2009
So another year almost done and dusted. We’ve left the review and the prophesies to others, by and large (see our Christmas Crackers post), and we’ll be signing off for the year later today. We hope you have survived the year – one of the most testing many of us will have had – and at least hoping to optimistic in the year to follow.
Colleagues here will be chiming in later in the day with their own versions of ‘three things I’d like to see in 2010’. But as Editor, I get first crack 
17 December 2009
When work isn’t just what you do, but what your work is about (am I the only one thinking about the oozlum bird?), a certain attraction to milestone dates is inevitable. And for all our talk of habits, the world is not about to give up spending the last two weeks of the year reviewing the last 12 months and peering into their crystal balls for the next one. (To make the exception that proves our own rule, we’ll be blogging soon about what we’d like to see next year: suggestions welcome, by the way …). So rather than our usual Crackers, here’s a round up of some the most relevant or interesting reviews and predictions we’ve spotted in the last few days.
17 December 2009
In January 2010, The European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) – an organisation of which ASK is proud to be a member – will be holding an event in London called “The Myth of Non-directive Coaching”. Guest speaker Steve Nicklen, an experienced Executive Coach, acknowledges – to quote EMCC’s promotional email – that
… non-directive therapy/counselling is a good thing because the power relationship between therapist/counsellor and client is such that the latter is often too suggestible for anything else …”
but that this is not the case where the coachee is a Senior Executive. And we’d agree – and not just because of the inherently different power relationship.
10 December 2009
I hope it’s not indicative of our recent past, but the Index to the Oxford Dictionary of 20th Century Quotations doesn’t list a single entry for ‘encouragement’. OK, so that doesn’t mean no-one had a good word (as opposed to a merely appropriate one) for anyone else for a hundred consecutive years, but the lack of anything the editors considered memorable is quite worrying. Goethe may have observed that “Correction does much, but encouragement does more” a century earlier, but has human nature changed that drastically since?
While I’m conscious that our remarks about carrots and sticks have attracted comment elsewhere, that doesn’t mean I don’t believe in carrots anymore. There may be a whiff of biblical retribution about the cliché, but we do generally reap what we sow: if all you plant is sticks, well …
10 December 2009
In the second of our ‘Q&A’ style interviews, we talk to John Best – former CEO of Milton Keynes Council – about his personal experience of and reflections on comparisons between the private and public sectors (including their unhelpful stereotypes of each other, and their attitudes to L&D), and what organisations of whatever sector might usefully learn in – and for – the future. John’s answers to our questions are shown below: you can also read a brief biography and his responses to the Don’t Compromise Personal Learning Profile.
8 December 2009
I’m not a sociologist, nor even a psychologist, but I do sometimes wonder if human beings have an innate problem with two-way communication. It first dawned on me as I was working in website development. As I gathered clients’ requirements and diplomatically offered advice on best practice, I began to realise that there was something about ‘interactive’ – something they all agreed was a good thing, like ‘dynamic’ and (ugh!) ‘sexy’ – they just didn’t get. Interactivity, it seemed, was fine as long as it meant end users interacting with pixels. Speaking back wasn’t on the agenda (far too scary), and other people existed to be broadcasted at. All of which puzzled me, as I thought a big part of marketing was learning to understand your target audience, which I guessed would be more difficult if all you really wanted to tell them was ‘shut up’.
8 December 2009
As the business world and patterns of trade become irretrievably global, organisations follow suit: not a blinding insight so much as an acknowledgement of economic truths. But as organisations become global, and both think and operate globally too, it isn’t just an issue for production, distribution and sales: all aspects of the organisation follow suit. Recruitment and talent management can be no exception. To succeed on a global stage, organisations need to find – and keep – leading players with the talents to match the environment.
3 December 2009
If you’ve been anywhere near a shopping centre or a TV channel with adverts recently, one thing will be clear. Yep, it’s that time of year again. Or at least it will be soon enough for us to be bombarded with ‘promotional messages’. These aren’t the only messages we get, of course: already the blogs are alive with dire warnings about banning camera phones from the Christmas party (“Sticking a mobile phone camera lens under a toilet door …” – what kind of parties are employment lawyers going to, we wonder), disciplinary procedures following fighting or sexual harassment, and lost productivity?)
3 December 2009
A couple of musical – or music-themed – moments for you today. (I think the background Christmas carols are getting to me.) For more useful, provocative or just plain life-enhancing snippets from around the web, see our full Crackers list.
Let Me Entertain You: you may have read our earlier Q&A session with Peter Cook, author of Sex, Leadership and Rock’n’Roll. If you’d like to hear more about how his ideas can influence business leaders’ thinking, tune in to Radio 4 at 20.30 on 17 Dec, catch the repeat on 20 Dec at 21.30, or catch it on iPlayer for the following seven days.
Sweet Georgia Brown med traktorkomp: our favourite YouTube clip of recent times, and an exercise lesson in how to improvise your way out of an unexpected human resources crisis. (But do bear in mind that, although tractors don’t drink, smoke, run off with other musicians’ wives or throw tantrums, you can’t rely on them to make valuable creative contributions in their own right.)
Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Furl | Newsvine
1 December 2009
Many of us have moments in our lives that turn out to be pivotal – moments that arrive out of the blue and change its course. Few are probably as dramatic as that experienced by John Smeaton, the now legendary Glaswegian airport baggage handler, whose pivotal moment arrived in the form of terrorist’s burning jeep loaded with explosives. Though he has subsequently played down his role, his reactions made him an instant hero figure. He’s been the subject of a Wall Street Journal cover article, awarded the Queen’s Gallantry Medal, received a standing ovation at the Labour Party Conference, and now writes a column for The Scottish Sun that – echoing his TV interview on the day of the terrorist attack – is called ‘’The Column That Sets Aboot Ye’. But John Smeaton MP? Sadly for John, it wasn’t to be. Our MPs may lack heroism in our eyes, but is heroism what we’re really looking for?
